Ashes and Kingdoms

The Fourth Corps had left Nakte and had begun marching eastward.

As soon as he receives a request from the emperor and the council, he prepares and leaves behind the necessary force to defend the state capital to move. For the past four years or so, he had only been quick to accumulate rigorous training with the intention of Marquis Senato, but he had consumed a corresponding number of days with a large army on the boulder.

Senato himself heads to Quanos first and directs the preparation of supplies locally. Therefore, it was bound that the legions would be commanded to go through the Quanos.

Of course, I would normally go through Quanos without having to be pressed into my mind. It's the shortest distance, and it's natural to think about replenishment. While surprised by his uncle's strange obsession, Rufus continued to take the streets east as a very natural choice.

To quell the firehands of the east, the Dragon Horse of the west sends out an army. It's an unsuspecting accomplishment and a consequent march, but Rufus couldn't help but wipe away his discomfort.

(What are you doing here? Are you sure this is a good idea?

Vague anxiety bodes for the chest. Sometimes the army following from behind itself could even feel unexpectedly cold. There's nothing strange about it, I haven't done anything wrong yet, and there's no sign that the soldiers will rebel. But why?

Rufus didn't seem to be the only one feeling strange. Only a very few of them, but sometimes they have revealed that they have gotten into the wrong place - that they feel strange, that they have misplaced the legions to which they belong.

Some ancient centurion chiefs and even some completely inexperienced recruits had such a feeling. Rufus is looking around during the camp, etc., and when he finds the restless soldier and asks him, he mostly gets such a reply. They'll think I just got in and there's nothing out of place or anything, but I'm reluctant to confess. My name is really on the roster, isn't it, at the end of the day, when I even have a soldier who confirmed it?

The discomfort clearly showed its identity when a decree from the Imperial Capital rushed.

"Commander! Legion Commander Rufus!

Tension runs into the shadow of a street-driven rider from the east. Upon realizing that it was wearing the embassy's shoulder, Rufus ordered the whole army to cease, and he welcomed himself forward.

The decree of suspension is raised and the flag is waved. Instead of going down from the horse, the angel spoke while offering the sealed letter.

"Master Rufus, I am ordering you to change the needles of the Legion. He said to avoid the hinterland and choose a path by the coast."

"What?

To the unintelligible transmission, Rufus unwraps the seal with a weird face. The text was concise.

'I can't write everything down here. But there was news of dangerous signs in the hinterland. So we didn't go straight down the streets of Nakte, and once we went south, at least we crossed the Orne before we were driven east.'

"Dangerous inland......? What do you mean? Did you see anything before you got here?"

Rufus asked suspiciously. The soldiers behind it seem to be bluffing too. Noisy.

The angel answered with a slightly contemplative look as he prepared his rough breath.

"I didn't go through Quanos, I came running down Orne Street... so I didn't see anything unusual."

There are several streets laid from the Imperial Capital to the west, the widest and most linearly laid being Nakte Street. From the Imperial Capital we head slightly northwest to Quanos, from where we run through the plains to the true west. The path to which the angel replied is older, and runs south of Nakte Street in such a way that it runs along the Orne. Partly in a straight line, but with many bends and narrow roads because it is the path of the early Empire.

When Rufus roared, the angel shuddered unexpectedly and told him to whisper.

"But when I spent the night at the lodging station on the way...... I felt only one night, signs of relaxation. I thought it was a beast of darkness, but I didn't see anything like it... I just could say darkness darker than darkness, or there were only signs of such things. If that is the emperor's feared 'danger', I say, too, that we should avoid it."

When he saw the blue angel with only a heart, Rufus looked up. It's just one guy who doesn't seem inexperienced or nervous. I don't think you're scared of the blur of dreams, but what you say is too vague.

"If you're in danger, you have to avoid it, but there's not much respite from the war in the east either. After you put out your scouts and let them find out what's going on... what, what are you doing!

Rufus finally looked back and yelled at the anomaly behind him there.

The legions had not stopped. He keeps moving forward twitchy, swinging. The flag flying jumps and sends a stop signal, but only slightly dull movement does not work.

"Stop! All armies are shut down, do you hear me!!

A little further away, a hundred chiefs are unavoidably backward pushed by their men as they raise their anger. Similar voices are raised everywhere, but there is no sign of stopping as a whole.

"... what the hell..."

In the stunned ears of Rufus, a sad cry arrived.

"Commander!! Master Rufus, please help me, help me... eh"

Geez, my voice creaks, and the dull sound of something breaking continues one after the other. As Rufus tried to rush over there, the angel grabbed the sleeve and stopped.

"You shouldn't! Look at that."

"Yeah, let go!

Rufus shook off his arm angrily, but froze when he saw the tip of his finger.

Each troop's flag, which stood neatly between the lines, falls one, and another. Slowly moving soldiers thrust me down, trampled me.

What was going on was obvious. The Legion is ignoring orders and moving on its own. In front of Rufus, the regiment leader slowly passes by.

"Wait! Stop, you hear orders!?

When Rufus yelled, his opponent turned with a vain face. Stared into the eyes like two dark holes, Rufus softens and lags behind. The commander's mouth was half open. From behind it like a void, words leak even though the lips are barely moving.

"Senato's orders…"

Then, slowly, he turns forward again and walks out slowly. To Quanos, leave a crush with.

By that time, a small number of soldiers not involved in the anomaly had escaped from the formation and started to evacuate to the edge of the streets in pieces. If I'm finally in the queue, I'll be flushed and feathers to keep walking forever, or else I'll be pushed down and crushed.

"What the hell is this?"

No longer losing his temper to stop, Rufus just shruggedly dropped off an army that ignored himself and wandered by. At some point, he was on his knees, unaware that he had even lost his willingness to do something about it.

The Finns were watching the same sight from above. However, the view in the eyes is quite different.

"Ugh... Whatever, it's terrible"

Nellis groaned, and Finn looked over the ground with a harsh look. Armies covered in shadows like clouds and summers swoop over the streets, and the surrounding area fades into darkness. I saw a small dot not eroded by the darkness rushing out of the black cloud.

"It looks like a messy army to me. Nellis, what's going on?

Peek under the wing, being careful not to let Mac fall. I don't know, Nellis shook her head.

"It looks black to me. It's like a bunch of little black bugs, but it's like a whole bunch of one... disgusting"

"Looks like a few of us aren't involved. There's the head of the Rufus army over there. Let's go down."

Finn spotted a shadow nestled on the side of the street, pointing to it. Lena turns her neck toward you fluttering, once far south, and then goes down as she draws an arc.

"Rufus Legion Leader!

At Finn's call, Rufus looked up to the sky awakening from his haphazard and blatant self-loss. When a giant dragon descends, the legions go out of their way to avoid its light. But there was no further reaction, and the soldiers, with their vain faces, continued to walk, pointing cursorily east, as ever.

"Lord Phineas! Precisely heavenly help, thank you"

Rufus relieved himself and raised his voice of joy as he rose. Finn gets off Lena's back and rushes over to Rufus. Later, Lena also became a girl, and with Nellis and Mac came a terrible close.

"What the hell happened?

When Finn asked, Rufus shook his head in disgrace.

"I don't know either. Suddenly the army ignored the order and walked out. His Majesty the Emperor told me to go south to Orne Street without going through Quanos."

"His Majesty the Emperor?

To Finn, who looked puzzled, Rufus showed his writ. Finn reads at first reading and nods so much.

"You got the dwarf news."

"Good," Nellis breathes in relief. "If His Majesty the Emperor doesn't ignore warnings, does he? I hope the Imperial Capital can evacuate at all."

"What are you talking about? Lord Phineas, didn't you read my letter and were you on your way to Quanos?

Rufus has a tone of questioning. Finn said, "Letter?" He shook his head in surprise.

"I haven't received a letter. When did they send you?

"Such an idiot, I sent a decree over half a month ago. On the western side of Quanos, there are some disturbing signs…"

Say, Rufus stifles himself.

"No way, does this thing have anything to do with that, too? Lord Phineas, what do you know?"

"It's a very small part of what I know. As you have also been noticed, signs of disastrousness are beginning to move. They say the dwarves have already perceived it and started evacuating it. As the Dark Dragon Marquis in the Mountains and the Great Forest Dragon Marquis, each of them strike their hands so that they can stop the spread of disaster, I have come this far to evacuate the inhabitants of the hinterland… The Fourth Regiment may have been taken in as soon as possible by that“ disaster ”" "

Rufus roars "But" to Finn, who sees the soldiers in pain.

"Why? This is how I am safe, and there are a few who have escaped. Can't we save them, just like we do?

"Excuse me, it's too late"

Finn answered briefly with a look of hate.

Just look, I know there's nothing more I can do. Legion soldiers are completely swallowed up in the dark. If you are a living human, you must be somewhat wearing it, the colour of your spirit, no matter how much you stare into the eyes of a dragon, you cannot see it at all.

Even if we could somehow drag one or two people out of the darkness, our souls would already be empty. It was all eaten up by that “hunger," just the loose shell. There is no hope of recovery where Lena's light is poured - because there is no soul to be a vessel.

"Perhaps only those who were born with the protection of the gods and spirits, or who were blessed in the temple before departure, could not be swallowed. Rescue after it's over..."

That's it, he shuddered small. I understood what I was trying to deal with. It was a hell of a thought.

Rufus was also blue and listening to it, but when the words broke, he caught a hack of his eyes.

"Wait. I don't know what it is, but if the calamity is now eroding our army, then Quanos is."

"Perhaps the anomaly has already begun."

Finn also squeezed his expression and nodded, looking back at Mac and Nellis.

"I can't stay stuck. Both of you, divide up with the Commander of the Rufus Army and warn the nearby villages. Nellis, you need to protect Lady Nena. The elderly, the sick, the injured... give priority to those who may be running late"

"Okay. And the deaf blunt cows."

"Ask a legion soldier to force you out. Mac, I'll check on Quanos and head east. If we find the village, we'll go down to the warning, but we have to inform the Imperial Capital first."

No matter how fast the wings of the lana are, it is inefficient to fly in all directions by yourself. It would be smarter to first inform the Imperial Capital, which takes time to evacuate, and to send messengers of warnings everywhere. Fortunately, a legion soldier who is still passing away is a slow cow walk away. So much so that if you can't see the darkness that covers that whole thing or the grass that fades slightly at your feet, you even seem like a bunch of weary defeated soldiers.

Understanding Finn's intentions, Mac saluted "Roger."

"Then I'll join Nellis, warn the village that was the Lord around here, and then I'll run south. My brother will probably help us evacuate in the Imperial Capital... so I guess we can meet in Ordos or Ciros."

"Oh, I like that. Either way, I'll find you. Lord Rufus, just in case the warner's messenger is sent to the north or west as well. To the mountains in the region north of Quanos, to the great forest if it is closer to the sea, to evacuate."

"I understand. Neither is Nakte as much as the Imperial Capital, but he has a large population. I haven't been able to get the news to you quickly. But first, you have to let the people on that regiment's path get away."

"Yep. Please"

Finn lowered his head to Rufus, staring at Mac and Nellis again,

"Be careful. Don't push it."

"You too."

"See you in the south"

I exchanged short words and rose to the sky with Lena.

Overtake an army that continues its creepy march and fly east. Recently, signs of cold weather crept in. A nothingness that will not be filled forever, so much so that the hatred of the beast of darkness may still seem more so.

Even though the sky is just sunny with white clouds floating everywhere, the ground of the goings is somehow dim. Most importantly, the only thing that looked like that was the dragon's eye, and when the fins were strong and limited to human vision, I could see them neatly to the other side.

But I didn't think the view was real.

You shouldn't have come any closer.

I'll give it a try. If you go up high, maybe you'll be okay.

It rises steadily at the same time as Lena says. Out on the clouds, the sun's rays lit intensely, and the darkness of the earth was far away. But of course, the darkness isn't gone.

Going up high, the Quanos barracks could be seen pompously far away. It is unreliable, like a small ship floating on the edge of a great vortex, and retains its presence even though it is covered in darkness.

As expected, the center of the vortex was on the west side of the barracks, around the ancient battlefield where Finn once walked with Varys and Glaus and others. Already hunger approaches surface shavings, and even though it's midday, it keeps sucking in the surrounding stuff with its huge mouth. I can no longer compare myself to the kind of movement I felt in the muzzle, to the extent that I was quietly attracting food hiding in the darkness and sleep of night.

- Come yi...

An unidentified will also slightly reaches Finn's spirit. As soon as I was about to, my skin was poppy, reflexively, rising even higher.

The thinness of the air on the boulder became enough for Finn to hasten to pull out the power of Lena and wrap it around him. I still had a little trouble breathing, but didn't feel like lowering altitude. Even so far apart, the darkness on the surface emits a strong presence.

Then whoever was in Quanos will be wiped out.

The Legion soldiers, the citizens of the city, the Marquis Senato that he was preparing supplies...

One clear sign appeared in the darkness when Finn's memory of the old aristocrats returned.

"- Huh!?

Finn took his breath unexpectedly and glanced at him with dismay.

On Naruto's mouth, a huge face is rising.

"Stupid."

I don't know, my voice trembled. Blinking, staring again, there's nothing there - or there's just a void I don't understand what I'm looking at.

"Marquis Senato...?

Crush and rebut the blur for a moment. Sure, that was the face of Marquis Senato. The face of an old man vain, obsessed with suspicion, hatred and disappointment.

It was in a “hunger” where everything swallowed up and disappeared into the void, as if he was the only one left without losing his existence.

Finn's palpitations quickened. The “hunger” that found him reaches out to countless people. Loose, loose. Hands shake slowly, pressing to attract and eat.

- Shipokoshi se...

The light, the power of the dragon, the youth and the vitality.

- Eat Vaselo...

(No kidding!!

Finn got angry and stuck with Lena. At the same time, Lena wings heavily and escapes at a fierce speed. It was almost an escape of instinctive fear.

(If something like that overflows on the ground)

The country perishes.

The blue fog words stuck. It wasn't just a prediction, or a view of human resources. A condensed word about the inevitable outcome of something else to say.

Lena, let's hurry.

As soon as possible, let the Imperial Capital know.

With that in mind, Finn no longer looked at the earth either way, but crossed the sky like a meteor.